Padfoot's Daughter
by AspiringlyAriel
Summary: Andria is going into her 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Raised by her single mother, Andy is starting to ask questions about her father. With the Ministry focusing on Dumbledore maybe she can get her questions about her father answered. I don't own any rights to Harry Potter names. This is my take on one of the Marauder's daughters.
1. Chapter 1

Photographs are snap shots in time. They are a representation of emotion, a snip-bit of a moment that is captured and preserved forever. How can something so small carry so much meaning and emotion?

I only know of the subjects of this photograph from stories that I have heard from my mother and the Daily Prophet. Other than these 2 dimensional glances, I have never seen him, the one in the moving photo I constantly ask questions about. However, I feel like I know him. The way he has his arm around his best friend and the way he is smiling at the camera and laughing with those around him, I know that he is someone I know.

I hear the front door open and close. As quickly as I can I replace the picture at the bottom of my mother's old school trunk, making sure that everything looks just as it did before and scamper out of the room. Just as I shut the door I can hear her coming up the stairs.

"Andria I'm home. How was your day?"

When I see her round the corner I am at the other end of the hall, far away from the room I previously occupied.

"It was okay, not much happened." Not like anything happens in the summer anyways. It's not like I have any friends to hang out with when I am not at school.

For most summer vacation is where everyone gets to go on holiday with their family and friends. I have never been on a proper holiday. Mom is always working at the Ministry and says that she doesn't have time to go anywhere. Lucky for me I get to stay at home and do nothing.

"Why didn't you see if any of your friends were around?" she says, like we haven't had this conversation before.

"because, mom, everyone else is on holiday and, and I am stuck here." I gesture with my arms wide open.

"I am sure that you can find something to do here honey. If you want you can come to work with my at the ministry and intern there for the remainder of the summer. I know summer is almost over, but I am sure someone would be happy to have you help out." She smiles at me like it's the most ingenious plan that she has ever had.

When I don't answer her she looks disappointed. I am not sure if I want to be cooped up at the ministry either. All I can think about is how gloomy the place looks and how serious everyone who works there is.

"It's okay mom, I should probably finish my summer studies and prepare for Quidditch tryouts anyways. Besides I know this term is going to be brutal. The upper years say that potions is callous, especially with Professor Snape."

"Oh Severus is still the potions professor? I thought that he wanted to teach defense against the dark arts."

"He still does, but every year he applies and every year they choose a new professor."

"I wonder whom will teach it this year."

"The schedule says professor Umbridge. Never heard of her before."

Briefly moms face pales and saddens, "Mom is everything okay?" I can maybe count on once hand the number of times I have seen her look sad.

Plastering a smile on her face "Oh yes everything is fine. I am going to get out of my work robes and then we shall sit down for supper. How does that sound?"

Still worried I recommend, "How about I start dinner and you come down when you are ready?" As I turn to go mom grabs my hand and pulls me into a big hug. I feel her nose next to my hair and I know she is taking in my sent. She says that my sent calms her. After a few moments she lets me go with a pat on the rear as I make my way to the kitchen to help the elves set the table.


	2. Chapter 2: Grave Rememberings

Dinner was quiet as per usual tonight. With the two of us and a couple of house elves, it was rather quiet. One would compare the silence to that of a grave yard.

I've only been to a cemetery once, when I was a baby. I wasn't even old enough to remember going but I remember a dark feeling that hung around. When I try to remember that time, all I remember is this dark and foreboding feeling, something that clings to you just like your shadow. You don't even realize it's there till you look down and are reminded of it.

When I was able to draw all I could draw was a cemetery with dark shapes standing around two coffins. None of the shapes had faces, at least none that were discernable or memorable, all except for my mother's face. Some of the smeared figures had discernable features like half-moon eye glasses, and a beard.

When mother came across my grim drawings she snatched them up, and told me to draw something beautiful, taking all my darker colors away. I now believe this was to prevent me from drawing ominous looking graves, she wanted unicorns eating flowers and pooping rainbows; you know the happy girly things every girl should love to draw.

I am not really sure why this particular memory comes to my mind while we are eating. I haven't even had those feelings for as long as I can remember. The moment those feelings surfaced was when I found that photograph tucked away in my mother's old school trunk.

Bringing me out of my reflections mom asked me about the upcoming term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "So what's on the school list this year?"

I looked up from my meal and cleared me throat, "the usual, I need to have my school robes mended and make sure that my quidditch uniform is up to snuff. I am going into this year with confidence that I will make the team again this year."

"Well I hope that I will be able to make a few of your games again this year. I still can't believe that you didn't play last year" mom said with a down tone of voice.

Mom was friends with the Diggory family and worked with Cedric Diggory's father at the Ministry. The loss of Cedric had been hard on everyone. The Diggory family had wanted a private funeral, even mom and I didn't attend even though Cedrick and I grew up together. The news of what happened last year at the Tri-Wizard Tournament was too much for anyone to handle. The whole of the wizarding world didn't want to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, could be back. All the papers, who print that Minister of Magic tells them to print, are accusing Dumbledore of trying to replace Fudge as Minister of Magic and using Harry Potter as a reason for doing so. Since Harry was the only other person in the graveyard with Cedric when he died, no one really knows if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is really back or not. This loss of such a young and beautiful life and claim of the Dark Lord being back is throwing the wizarding world in a tail spin.

"I hope that this year is low key. I just want to go to focus on school, play quidditch and hangout with my friends. I don't want any more killer tournaments, student deaths or unknown serpents crawling through the pipes petrifying people."

"Well with Umbridge as professor, I doubt anything will be normal" mom said while she started clearing away the plates. She continued talking as we cleared the table and put away the leftovers, "Harry Potter was brought in today for his disciplinary hearing, Fudge was working hard to have him expelled. When Professor Dumbledore arrived the Minister's mood was even… darker, I'm not even sure that's an adequate enough explanation for what the mood of the room was."

I looked up from the food that I was putting in the fridge, "what was Harry doing at an inquiry? He's coming back to school right?"

"Oh yes he is, sorry I didn't mean to make it sound as if he had indeed been expelled. You will see him on the train in a few short weeks."

With that marking the end of her story she turned towards me, "Andy I am so glad that you love going to school and doing what makes you happy," with a more serious tone she added, "however, pleases don't make yourself known this year." Confusion surely illuminated my face because she immediately rose hear hand "please just promise me that you will not do anything to gain any attention from anyone this year, for my sake please."

With her worried look and adamant plea I agreed, "I will be as silent as a fox."

Mom raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow "I would prefer something less cunning if you please, how about more like a fish."

And with that she gave me a tight and quick hug with a kiss on the forehead. "Now, off to you bedroom to finish your summer school work." With a small and gentle twist I was turned and pushed out the door.

Once I closed my bedroom door I had no intention of working on my school work. I reached for the bottom drawer of my desk and pulled out parchment and colored pencils. Once they were all laid out on my desk I started drawing an ominous scene from memory, however this time the shapes that had some definition to them. Smudged faces became defined and recognizable. Gasping I crumpled up the drawing and burned it. How I drew it I cannot explain, but burning it would make sure that I would never see it again.


End file.
